Using Protein Marking to Document Dispersal Behavior in Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius) with Emphasis on Harborage Choice and Fidelity

Project Title:

Using Protein Marking to Document Dispersal Behavior in Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius) with Emphasis on Harborage Choice and Fidelity

Investigators:

Susan C. Jones, PhD, Department of Entomology, Rothenbuhler Research Lab The Ohio State University

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) present a growing threat due to their worldwide resurgence and explosive spread during the past two decades. Infestations of bed bugs can carry serious health and economic consequences, often disproportionately burdening already vulnerable populations. The dispersal behavior and aggregation habits of bed bugs at harborage sites are poorly understood, despite the importance of such information for control strategies targeting these pests. This project will use immunomarking, an innovative technique to mark insects with vertebrate proteins then subsequently detect those proteins using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), to quantify bed bug behavior in a laboratory setting. Bed bugs feed solely on blood, and therefore mark themselves internally with vertebrate proteins from their diet; these proteins persist in the bugs’ digestive tract and are later detectible in feces, a novel finding of the Jones’ lab. Dr. Jones will conduct laboratory bioassays of bed bugs of various stages to determine harborage preference as it relates to fecal contamination, whether from familiar or unfamiliar bed bugs. In additional bioassays, harborage fidelity and dispersal of groups of replete adults and nymphs will be quantified. This information is important both to guide more precise application of bed bug treatments and to inform the development of future products and techniques for bed bug integrated pest management.

Dr. Jones’ research aims to:

• Deveop an innovative technique for marking and tracking bed bugs;

• Characterize the dispersal behaviors of bed bugs in laboratory and field settings;

• Guide more precise bed bug treatments and the development of future products for bed bug control.